Chapter 2
After completing Army basic training, Michael passed the qualification exams. He was going to become a helicopter pilot for the US Army. Michael was in heaven. His childhood dream was becoming a reality.
Michael's next assignment was at Fort Wolters. It was four miles northeast of Mineral Wells in Texas.
It was Monday, September 30th. Michael sat on a bus that drove through the main gate of Fort Wolters. By the gate on a brown stone pedestal was an orange Hughes 269 helicopter. The Army designation was TH-55 Osage. An arched entrance over the road that read "US Army, Primary Helicopter Center, Fort Wolters, Texas." On another brown stone, pedestal was a green and orange Hiller Model 360 helicopter. The Army designation was the OH-23 Raven.
The happy young men on the bus were eager to start their training in helicopters.
They stepped off the silver MCI bus with their suitcases in hand and huge grins.
They headed off to the Administration building to get processed into the base.
Michael in class 68-45a-1. He was on his way for his primary helicopter flight training as a Warrant Officer Candidate.
During the preflight training days, Michael and the other candidates marched to class.
His preflight training consisted of classroom instruction on the basics of aerodynamics. Michael hated the bookwork but knew it was a required.
November 1968 rolled around. Michael completed his preflight training. He was ready to start with his four-month primary flight training at Fort Wolters.
It was a warm day, and the temperature was sixty-eight degrees. Michael stood in formation outside his barracks.
He stood with forty-nine other Warrant Officer Candidates.
All dressed in fatigues.
All the candidates wore yellow baseball caps.
This indicated their class color.
Michael stood next to Eric Wilson.
Eric was the same age as Michael and was from Burbank, California. They immediately became the best of friends since they were both from California. This helped overcome their occasional feelings of being homesick. Like Michael, Eric was also an avid fan of the old Whirlybirds TV show. And that show also sparked his dreams of flying helicopters.
While in formation, the sound of flapping of blades of TH-55 Osage helicopters filled the air. This made their mouths water. They all were itching to get their hands on the controls of a copter.
A few minutes later, a green Army International bus drove up and stopped by the formation. The door opened, and SSG Vincent "Vinny" Moore stepped off the bus looking tough.
Vinny was an Army lifer with two years left until he was eligible to retire. He sported a crew cut that did not hide his bald patches. His starched fatigues had creases that appeared sharp as a knife. His black combat boots were spit-polished to a mirror shine.
"Okay Candidates. I'm Sergeant Moore. I'm going to take you to the flight line," Vinny said in a raised voice while glaring at the formation of candidates. "So get on my fucking bus!"
Michael, Eric, and the other candidates stood with a look of disbelief. They thought their basic training days were long gone.
"And I mean now!" Vinny screamed at the candidates. He used his old Drill Instructor voice even sprayed spit at some of the faces of the candidates.
Moore glared at the candidates while they scrambled over to the bus like a bunch of boot camp recruits.
After the last candidate stepped on the bus, Vinny stepped on the bus and the doors closed.
The pimply-faced Army Corporal drove the bus away down the street. The candidates all had widened eyes and smiles. They couldn't wait to get inside a helicopter.
Vinny sat in the seat behind the driver. He rolled his eyes when he heard all the excitement with flying helicopters. It was an all too familiar sound he was not fond of hearing over and over again.
Michael and Eric sat side by side in one of the two-person seats.
"I can't believe it. I'm finally going to fly choppers. I've been waiting for this moment since I was a kid," Michael told Eric.
"I could tell you love helicopters by how you aced all those tests," Eric replied.
"Yeah, I've been studying everything I could about those machines since I was nine years old," Michael said. He had sparkles in his eyes. He simulated his right hand was on the cyclic control while his left hand was on the collective control. "I'll be flying that baby within the first hour of having my hands her controls. I should have my wings by the end of the week," he added with an air of arrogance.
A candidate sitting in the seat behind Michael rolled his eyes when he heard his arrogant claim.
"I should be taking lessons from you," Eric said while he played along with his friend's arrogance.
"Don't worry. I'll give you some pointers, my friend," Michael added and looked serious.
A candidate sitting in the seat behind Michael rolled his eyes.
He looked at the guy next to him. That candidate rolled his eyes, indicating he heard Michael's arrogance.
The bus drove down the flightline of the Downing heliport. All the candidates were chattering up a storm with eyes big and bright.
The mouths of the candidates drooled. A sea of Hiller (OH-23 Raven) and Hughes (TH-55 Osage) helicopters were in formation on the flightline.
The bus drove down the flight line with the candidates almost wetting their pants.
The bus stopped by a large building, and the Corporal driver opened up the doors.
"Get the fuck off my bus!" Moore yelled at the candidates.
The candidates jumped up and ran off the bus with Vinny right behind them.
Outside the large doors of the building stood Captain Bill Ernst. He was the flight leader with a clipboard in hand. He watched while his fresh candidates ran off the bus.
The candidates stood in formation.
Vinny walked over to Ernst. "Here are your fresh candidates, sir," he said, snapped a salute.
Ernst saluted back and looked at the formation of young kids.
"Listen up. I'm your flight leader Captain Bill Ernst. Now, the first order of business. Wear your hats backward," Ernst told the formation while he walked back and forth in front of the front line.
Michael and Eric looked at each other thinking that was stupid.
"What the hell is that all about?" Michael leaned over, asking Eric.
"Beats me," Eric replied.
"Do it now!" Vinny hollered at the candidates the second he realized they were stalling.
The candidates obeyed Sergeant Moore and wore their yellow baseball caps backward.
"Now, you'll always wear your hat in this configuration while on my flight line. You'll wear it this way until you solo. After that. You're authorized to wear it in the proper configuration," Ernst addressed the candidates. He glanced at his clipboard then glanced at the candidates. "I want you to go over to those tables and get your flight gear starting from left to right. Then get back into formation," he added while he pointed back inside the hangar.
The candidates looked inside the building. They saw tables lined up in a straight line. On the tables were all sorts of flight gear with enlisted men waiting behind the table to assist.
The candidates started marching into the hangar and over to the tables.
Vinny stood in the doorway and watched the candidates. "I can't wait for my orders to come through," he talked to himself, as he hated this assignment in Texas. Vinny longed for some real action. He had the irresistible inch to put his old Army training to work killing Communist in Vietnam.
A little while later, the candidates were back in formation outside the building. Their arms held a flight suit, flight helmet, and flight gloves. They also had a flight computer, student notebook, and the owners manual for a TH-55 helicopter.
"Look at all this cool gear," Michael leaned over and told Eric.
"This sure beats combat gear," Eric replied.
Michael nodded in agreement. "We're fucking lucky we get to fly helicopters," Michael added.
Eric nodded in agreement with sparkles in his eyes.
A little while later, Ernst had the candidates back in one of the rooms of the building. They sat in assigned seats arranged in small groups.
Ernst stood in the front of the room facing the candidates. Then he started pacing around for a short distance.
"Today will begin your flight training. You'll meet your instructor pilots shortly," Ernst added while pacing back and forth. He stopped and glared at the candidates. "Now, I only have one rule. And that rule is," he said and paused. "Don't fuck up any of my copters," he said in a raised voice. "We have over twelve hundred helicopters here at Fort Wolters. I don't want you crashing them," he said, then stopped pacing and looked the candidates square in their eyes. "Do you understand me?"
"Yes sir," all the candidates sang out in unison.
Ernst hesitated for a few seconds while he stared at the door of the room. The door opened.
Instructor Pilots (IP) walked inside. Some of the IPs were civilians and wore the standard green Army flight suits. There were also Army Warrant Officer instructors.
"Gentlemen, here are your new students," Ernst told the IPs while they stood in the back of the room.
The IPs broke off in different directions and headed to the tables in search of their students.
IP George Perry started his helicopter career in the Army during the Korean War and flew the Bell 47.
He ferried wounded soldiers to a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) unit. IP Perry retired from the Army in 1966.
Then he started working for Southern Airways as an instructor pilot in Fort Wolters.
IP Perry walked up to the table where Michael and Eric sat when he realized he located his students.
"Hello, gentlemen. I'll be your instructor pilot. My name is George Perry. Now tell me who you are."
"I'm Michael Grayson."
"I'm Eric Wilson."
"I'm Bruce Weston."
"I'm Calvin Jones."
"Okay. Today will be your first lesson. I will take each of you up and let you get a feel for the controls of the chopper. Are there any questions?"
They were too anxious to get in the air than ask questions.
"Okay, then. Let's go up in the sky," said IP Perry said while he started walking off to the door.
Michael and the rest of the guys stood up and followed IP Perry out of the room with childish grins.
"Man. I'm getting a boner thinking about flying in a copter," Michael said with sparkles in his eyes.
"I'm starting to worry about you," Eric replied while they walked out of the room with IP Perry.
The candidates walked with IP Perry out of the building.
IP Perry stopped by the corner of the building.
"Grayson will be my first victim, and the rest of you can ride the bus over to the stagefield. We'll be at one called Ramrod," said IP Perry while he pointed at the waiting Army bus.
Michael had a huge grin on his face while he strutted over to IP Perry.
"Are you ready?"
"Since I was eight years old," Michael replied with an ear-to-ear grin.
"Let's crank her up," IP Perry replied with a smirk. He's instructed tons of kids that thought flying a helicopter was a piece of cake.
Michael and IP Perry walked over to the flightline. They headed over to the formation of helicopters.
"Show him how it's done," Eric called out to Michael.
Michael turned around and gave Eric two thumbs up sign with a huge grin.
IP Perry glanced back at Michael and saw his two thumbs up sign. "This is going to be fun," he muttered to himself.
While IP Perry and Michael walked to the TH-55 chopper, Eric, Bruce, and Calvin walked over to a bus. This would take them over to the Ramrod stage field.
Michael was in heaven while IP Perry walked him over to a parked TH-55 helicopter.
Michael walked behind IP Perry while he walked past the tail rotor of the right side of the copter.
"We're going to be best friends," Michael said to himself while he ran his hand along the tail boom of the copter.
"What?" IP Perry said while he glanced back at Michael.
"Oh, nothing."
IP Perry stopped at the door of the right side of the copter. "We'll first start with the preflight inspection. Watch me and learn," IP Perry said. He then reached inside the copter and removed the preflight inspection book. He opened up the book.
Michael shadowed IP Perry while he explained the preflight inspection. This was important to ensure the copter was safe for flying.
The rest of Michael's cohorts were on the bus and heading out to the Ramrod stage field.